The Maliseets, also known as the Wolastoqiyik, meaning “People of the Beautiful River,” call the Meduxnekeag River home. Before contact with Europeans, the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians occupied much of what is now considered the eastern borderline of the U.S. and Canada in northern New England. The Jay Treaty of 1794 guaranteed the Maliseets the right to cross the border freely because their villages spanned both countries. The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians received federal recognition in 1980 and has approximately 1,700 members.